Dream Lover

Grace had been dreaming of a mysterious lover for years, but she'd always thought it was just a dreamuntil she rented a cabin at the national state park, and discovered that Axel, the sexy blond ranger, wasn't a stranger after all! (Book 32 of "The Hazard Chronicles")

~~~~~ Excerpt ~~~~~

"Do you remember?"

His quiet question stopped her dead in her tracks, and she spun back to gape at him in baffled confusion. "Remember?"

Something intense lit his narrowed eyes; she felt the force of it like a lightning bolt. Dizzily she braced a hand on the sturdy porch railing. "The hayloft." It emerged as a strangled whisper, and her eyes widened in sudden awareness. "It was you!"

Then she shook her head in baffled confusion. "No. No, that can't be right. His name was Nathan! Butit was you! I know it was!"

Axel rose, and slowly crossed the wide porch. "Axel is my middle name," he murmured. "I always liked it better, so I started using it when I became a ranger.

"I never thought I'd get the chance to see you again." His deep voice seemed to vibrate in the cool night air like a plucked harp string. "You haven't changed at all."

She wasn't sure if she should be flattered or insulted. "I hope I have!" she muttered resentfully.

That made him laugh. "Well, you've gotten taller, certainly. But you're just as beautiful. I recognized you right away."

She didn't believe his compliment for an instant, but still it warmed her deep inside. "I thought, when I first saw you But I never get to go anywhere, not even the town dances. So how could I possibly have known you?"

But she did now, and hot excitement was thrumming inside her like a hive of bees. "You used to work on the ranch. And you left the farm right after"

Quickly he laid a finger across her lips, silencing her. "I had to leave. I couldn't stay after what happened. It was an accident, you know that, right? It was wrong, and I couldn't let it happen again. But I wanted it so muchso it wasn't safe for me to stay!"

Hot tingles began to shimmer in her stomach again. Of course it could never lead anywhereAxel had to be nearly thirty; he must have his pick of willing women. He'd never want a shy teenager who was so innocent and naïve.

But it felt so good to be held in a man's strong arms!

If only

When he finally eased back, that intense flicker lit his eyes again. "You're not a little girl now, though, are you?" he murmured, and traced her bottom lip with one long finger.

His light touch made icy-hot shivers ripple up and down her spine. "No, I'm not." Breathlessly she shook her head, and wondered if he had any idea what he was doing to her!

For several long moments he seemed to hover on the razor's edge of some weighty dilemma. Then a slow smile curved his lips. "Will you sit on my lap again, Grace? And I'll show you why I couldn't stay."

Dettagli